Can opener



Feb. 23, 1960 STALLARD 2,925,653

' CAN OPENER Filed July 25, 1958 j 27 INVENTOR 26 I 30 Ross GCHZ'aZZard BY Z ,WZM

ATTORNEYS United States Patent ce KIAN OPENER Ross G. Stallard, Vallejo, Calif.

Application July 25, 1958, Serial No. 750,915

1 Claim. (Cl. 30--15) The present invention relates to can openers, and particularly to can openers of the type held in the hand while opening a can.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a can opener constructed from a minimum of parts and which is operated through a gear drive for positive action.

Another object of the invention is to provide a can opener of the class described above in which the can is positively gripped by a hand operated lever action to positively prevent spilling of the contents of the can when opened.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can opener of the class described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to use, and which opens a can in a manner to prevent jagged edges.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the.invention.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the opener head.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows, with the can opener illustrated in can opening position.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally a can opener of the type for opening cans having a cylindrical side wall 11 and a circular lid 12 connected thereto by a bead 13.

The can opener 10 includes a generally fiat metal body 14 having an integral handle 15 extending from one end thereof. The handle 15 is twisted at 16 so that its plane is perpendicular to the plane of the body 14. The handle 15 has a conventional bottle opener 17 formed on the end thereof opposite the body 14.

The body 14 is provided with an elongated aperture 18 formed in the upper portion thereof, for reasons to be assigned.

A hand crank 19 has an end portion 20 thereof journalled in the body 14 and secured therein by a head 21 fixedly secured to the terminal end of the portion 20 and positioned on the opposite side of the body 14 therefrom. A spur gear 22 is fixedly secured to the portion 20 of the hand crank 19 on the side of the body 14 opposite the head 21. An ofiset bracket 23 is secured to the body 14 at the end thereof opposite the handle 15 and is arranged in spaced generally parallel relation to the body .14. The portion 20 of the hand crank 19 is journalled in the bracket 23 with the gear 22 being positioned between the bracket 23 and the body 14.

A shaft 24 is arranged parallel to the portion 20 of the crank 19 and is journalled in the body 14 and the 2,925,653 Patented Feb. 23, 1960 fixedly secured to the shaft 24 intermediate the body 14 and the bracket 23 in meshing relation to the gear 22. The gear 26 is somewhat larger in diameter than the gear 22 so that each revolution of the crank 19 accomplishes less than a full revolution of the wheel 25.

A lever, generally indicated at 27, is provided with a relatively flat central portion 28 secured to the body 14 on the side thereof opposite the wheel 25 by means of a pivot pin 29. A handle 30 extends laterally from the lower end of the central portion of the lever 27 in opposed confronting relation with respect to the handle 15. The handle 30 has an outwardly offset terminal end portion 31 integrally formed on the end thereof secured to the central portion 28.

The gear 26 is spaced from the body 14 and the central portion 28 is adapted to swing in the space between the body 14 and the gear 26.

The central portion 28 of the lever 27 is provided with a transversely extending upper portion 32 which projects through the aperture 18 in the body 14 to a point beyond the wheel 25. A cutter blade 33 is integrally formed on the transversely extending portion 32 and depends therefrom in generally parallel relation to the body 14. The cutter blade 33 is sharpened at 34 to provide a sloping cutting portion for penetrating the lid 12 of the can to be opened.

In the use and operation of the invention, the head 13 is engaged over the wheel 25 and the handle 30 is moved toward the handle 15 to cause the cutter blade 33 to penetrate the lid 12 of the can. With the device in the position illustrated in Figure 4, the hand crank 19 is revolved to move the wheel 25 and hence revolve the lid 12 so that the cutter blade 33 will sever the lid 12 from the bead 13 peripherally. The outwardly offset portion 31 of the handle 30 maintains the correct angular relation between the cylindrical wall 11 of the can and the can opener 10.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A can opener comprising a flat metal body, a handle integrally extending from one end of said body, said body having an elongated aperture formed therein and extending generally parallel to said handle, a lever pivotally secured to said body below the end of said aperture adjacent said handle, a handle integrally formed on said lever and extending therefrom in confronting relation to said first named handle, an outwardly offset can engaging portion integrally formed on said lever at the point of attachment of said handle and extending oppositely of said handle, a cutter arranged in generally parallel relation to said body on the side of said body opposite said lever, an integral extension on said lever projecting through said aperture in said body integrally supporting said cutter in depending relation therefrom, a bracket positioned in spaced parallel relation to said body and secured to said body at the end thereof opposite said first named handle on the side thereof opposite said cutter, a hand crank having a shaft portion and a handle portion, said shaft portion extending through and being journalled in said bracket and said body to assist in maintaining said crank in operating position, a spur gear mounted on said hand crank and disposed between said bracket and said body, a shaft extending through and journalled in said bracket and said body below said opening in said body, a gear mounted on said shaft between said bracket and said body, said lever lying between and supported by said body and said second gear when said cutter and said toothed wheel are in cooperating relation to cut a can, said first and second spur gears engaging in meshing relation and a peripherally toothed wheel secured to said shaft References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED -STATES PATENTS 2,028,778 Hosmer I an. 28, 1936 4 Hosmer June 29, 1937 Fender et a1. Apr. 8, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Italy May 21, 1953 

